Crusader Kings III

[Barthheart]

Goes live tomorrow at noon.

Who's in?

 

[bbmike]

I'll quote myself from the other CKIII thread:

Having bought the first two and really never played them, I have no choice but to buy this one as well. 

[thecommandtent]

Goes live tomorrow at noon.

Who's in?

 

My heart and mind say yes but my laptop says nooooooo 

[Martok]

I'm holding off for at least a couple reasons... 


1.)  Purely as a practical matter, my current machine is a piece of crap (not unlike thecommandtent, perhaps, although I'm guessing his laptop is simply old ).  I mean, yeah, it'll run the game, but it would probably make my CPU whimper like a little nancy-boy. 

2.)  After all my experiences with Stellaris, plus the DLC/update fatigue with both that game and CK2, I'm both wary and weary of Paradox.  They release good games, but the problem is they don't know when to stop messing with them, and so they become less than what they were.  It makes me reluctant to want to purchase future titles developed by them, as it seems inevitable that they'll find a way to screw up a good thing. 



All that said, Crusader Kings III still has a terrible pull on me, as it ticks off so many things on my personal checklist of what I want in a strategy game.  I'll still resist, of course, but I won't like it.   

[Steelie]

2.)  After all my experiences with Stellaris, plus the DLC/update fatigue with both that game and CK2, I'm both wary and weary of Paradox.  They release good games, but the problem is they don't know when to stop messing with them, and so they become less than what they were.  It makes me reluctant to want to purchase future titles developed by them, as it seems inevitable that they'll find a way to screw up a good thing. 

^This. Starting a new game of Stellaris is like unboxing a brand new game that is vaguely familiar to something you've played before. I nearly jumped back in but found myself reinstalling Polaris Sector and Stars in Shadow instead. I'll look at Crusader Kings III in a year maybe.

[bbmike]

But that's why you have to buy and play it now. It won't be good in a year. 

[Steelie]

^LOL. Turning my own logic against me, eh?   

[bbmike]

 

[Martok]

Starting a new game of Stellaris is like unboxing a brand new game that is vaguely familiar to something you've played before. I nearly jumped back in but found myself reinstalling Polaris Sector and Stars in Shadow instead.

Indeed.  I've made a couple concerted efforts now to play Stellaris on the most updated version(s), but I simply can't get into it.  Paradox took a game that was fun, but then turned playing it into feeling like a chore.  I hated rolling it back to version 2.1 (as it means I can't take advantage of the newer DLC), but at least I can still enjoy the game that way. 

But that's why you have to buy and play it now. It won't be good in a year. 

Actually (and joking aside), a year from now will probably be the best time to get/play CK3. 

Knowing Paradox's development patterns, the game will probably reach its "peak" state around that time -- thanks to bug-fixing, balancing, and possibly DLC (depending on the quality).  Around the end of 2022/beginning of 2023, the game will begin to suffer from feature bloat and/or too much "fiddling", and will subsequently never be as enjoyable as before (unless you roll back to an earlier version). 


So look for a sale in late 2021, and then play the hell out of it for a year or so.   

[Dave Pumphouse]

i'll be getting it in a month or so

[judgedredd]

I got CK1 - couldn't get into it

I got CK2 because everyone was raving about CK and I thought I must be missing something...I wasn't.

CK3 - I just don't get the game...as in CK...not just CK3. It's about??? Family? Dynasty? That's it?

[Barthheart]

It’s about creating a dynasty. It’s about conquering as much as you can. It’s about going on crusades and getting a share of the booty.
It’s about plotting and backstabbing so you don’t have to fight open wars.
It’s a lot of games all in one, and the only way to really lose is die without an heir.

I’m playing now. I gave up about have way through CKII endless DLCs. Too much change to keep track of But I loved the game up to then.
This one has lots of what was in the last plus a bunch of the DLCs, so I’m learning it all at once again.
The UI is better, at least for me. Easier to get to important stuff andY easier to access the rules and game info.
Looks pretty good too. And there’s a tutorial that’s pretty good at showing what you can do and how to do it.

So far happy with my purchase... after about 3 hours playing.

[judgedredd]

IIRC there was alot of reading - maybe I'm lying or confusing it with something else.

One thing I do remember being wary of - the overall diplomacy aspect. We've all been so burned with "great diplomacy" turning out to be a click fest of options to try and get something to work.

It might just be me...medieval isn't really my bag anyway - nor diplomacy...though I would like to marry Scotland into a strong partner abroad and make Great Scotland 

I know I'll probably get it and give it a go...but I also know, I'll likely shelve it in a week or two.

[Martok]

To add to what Vance said, there's also something appealing about being able to move your your way up & down the nobility ladder, using whatever combination of tools at your disposal -- diplomacy, marriage, intrigue, war, etc. you feels works best for you.  To start out ruling a mere County, then eventually working your way up to Duchy, then Kingdom, and possibly even Empire (should you be so ambitious)...it's pretty damn satisfying. 

And taking your entire family/clan along for the ride simply makes it more epic:  Your starting ruler will almost certainly all die long before you've attained whatever goals you've set for yourself, so you'll then have to try and accomplish them with their heir (who may be more or less capable than their predecessor).  Dealing with characters in this game -- including your current ruler -- is at least half the fun!   


I've heard the Crusader Kings series described as an RPG with a grand-strategy layer, and I'd say that's a pretty fair statement.  I find it helps to approach the game from that perspective. 

...I need to shut up before I talk myself into buying this, dammit.   

[Anguille]

I had a lot of fun playing the first one for a while and i love the music. I have yet to play CK2 (which i have with plenty of DLCs). So no CK3 for now and the forseable future.